Nepali concept reaches final round of Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund competition

KATHMANDU, Nepal

April 3, 2012

An innovative concept on democratization floated for the first time by East West Center APLP alumni team in Nepal has reached the final stage of worldwide competition for Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF).

The AEIF under the State Department has announced 154 finalists in the 2012 competition for innovative projects to be carried out by State Alumni teams. The announcement was made public on the last week of April.

The concept proposed by a team led by APLP G8 fellow Kamal Raj Sigdel aims at "Promoting Dialogue for Nepal’s Peaceful Transformation and a lasting democracy". The concept proposes to train a cohort of young school students as "change agents" and provide each of them with a unique opportunity to meet the top political and non-political leaders in Kathmandu, explore the issues in their community and produce a radio program on the same from their respective villages.

This year’s competition brought in 685 proposals from nearly 7,000 alumni in more than 115 countries, the AEIF statement read. "Finalist project teams are now finalizing their proposals before May 8 when all State Alumni members will be invited to vote for their five favorite proposals from among the finalists."

The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) offers $1,000,000 to help teams of alumni take on global issues from civic engagement to economic growth.  Administered by the State Department’s Alumni Affairs Division, AEIF awards up to $25,000 per winning team. (Announced by https://alumni.state.gov/)

News Source: http://osnepal.com/show.php?sn=4527&atsn=100&subatsn=0